| 1 | 1 | | 85R8311 DMS-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Lucio III H.B. No. 2867 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the contracts of the Edwards Aquifer recharge, storage, |
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| 8 | 8 | | and recovery projects. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Sections 1.44(a), (b), and (c), Chapter 626, |
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| 11 | 11 | | Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993, are amended to |
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| 12 | 12 | | read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (a) The authority may contract with any investor-owned |
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| 14 | 14 | | utility or political subdivision of the state under Chapter 791, |
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| 15 | 15 | | Government Code, to provide for artificial recharge of the aquifer, |
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| 16 | 16 | | through injection wells or with surface water subject to the |
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| 17 | 17 | | control of the investor-owned utility or political subdivision, for |
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| 18 | 18 | | the subsequent retrieval of the water by the investor-owned utility |
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| 19 | 19 | | or political subdivision or its authorized assignees for beneficial |
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| 20 | 20 | | use within the authority. |
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| 21 | 21 | | (b) The authority may not unreasonably deny a request to |
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| 22 | 22 | | enter into a cooperative contract under this section if the |
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| 23 | 23 | | investor-owned utility or political subdivision agrees to: |
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| 24 | 24 | | (1) file with the authority records of the injection |
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| 25 | 25 | | or artificial recharge of the aquifer; and |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2) provide for protection of the quality of the |
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| 27 | 27 | | aquifer water and of the rights of aquifer users in designating the |
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| 28 | 28 | | location of injection wells or recharge dams, the methods of |
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| 29 | 29 | | injection or recharge, and the location and type of retrieval |
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| 30 | 30 | | wells. |
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| 31 | 31 | | (c) The investor-owned utility or political subdivision |
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| 32 | 32 | | causing artificial recharge of the aquifer is entitled to withdraw |
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| 33 | 33 | | during any 12-month period the measured amount of water actually |
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| 34 | 34 | | injected or artificially recharged during the preceding 12-month |
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| 35 | 35 | | period, as demonstrated and established by expert testimony, less |
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| 36 | 36 | | an amount determined by the authority to: |
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| 37 | 37 | | (1) account for that part of the artificially |
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| 38 | 38 | | recharged water discharged through springs; and |
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| 39 | 39 | | (2) compensate the authority in lieu of users' fees. |
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| 40 | 40 | | SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017. |
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